Sylvester Fisher gets a influenza vaccine from pharmacist Patricia Pernal during an event hosted by the Chicago Department of Public Health on the Southwest Senior Center on September 09, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. The vaccines were being offered together with pneumonia vaccines and the recently authorized COVID-19 booster vaccine, which protects against the unique SARS-CoV-2 virus and the more moderen omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5 through the event. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a further dose of Pfizer and Moderna‘s Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron variant for seniors and other people with weak immune systems.
Seniors who’re 65 years of age or older and who’ve already received a vaccine targeting the omicron BA.5 subvariant at the moment are eligible to receive one other dose at the very least 4 months after their last shot, in accordance with the FDA. Individuals with weak immune systems can receive one other omicron shot at the very least two months after their last dose and receive additional shots on the discretion of their doctor.
Children 6 months through 5 years of age who’re unvaccinated can now receive the complete two-dose series of Moderna’s omicron vaccine. Kids 6 months through 4 years of age can receive three doses of Pfizer’s shot that targets omicron.
Children who’re 5 years old can receive either two doses of Moderna or a single dose of Pfizer.
Children under age 5 who’ve already began their vaccination series with the old Covid vaccines that focus on the unique strain of the virus can receive the omicron shots to complete their course, though what number of doses they receive will depend upon whether or not they took Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Although the burden of the pandemic has eased substantially, Covid continues to kill greater than 1,300 people per week, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 1,600 persons are still hospitalized with Covid every day on average, in accordance with the general public health agency.
“Covid-19 continues to be a really real risk for many individuals, and we encourage individuals to think about staying current with vaccination, including with a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, who heads the FDA department answerable for vaccines.
The FDA first authorized the omicron BA.5 shots last August, but that subvariant has long since been displaced by a version of omicron called XBB.1.5. In June, the agency will likely update the variant that the Covid vaccines goal, ahead of the autumn respiratory virus season.
